Hawaii’s Back Yard Cheryl Chee Tsutsumi

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Kauai resorts go deep into isle culture

Hawaiiana classes have become as much a part of the islands' resort experience as mai tais and lomilomi massages. These four Kauai properties, however, are going far beyond the usual hula and lei-making lessons to enlighten visitors about Hawaii.

Sacred Wailua Cultural Program

Aloha Beach Resort

Classes are offered at various times Mondays through Fridays. Some are free; others cost $5 to $10 per person. Call 808-823-6000. On the Web: www.alohabeachresortkauai.com

The Aloha Beach Resort rests on 10 lush acres beside Wailua Bay, near the mouth of the Wailua River. In olden days this area was reserved for royalty. Adjacent to it are vestiges of Kauai's only known petroglyphs, a heiau (place of worship) and a puuhonua (place of refuge) where priests absolved those who had broken the kapu (ancient laws).

Honoring the rich history of the place, the Sacred Wailua Cultural Program includes more than a dozen classes focused on topics such as canoe making, medicinal plants, musical instruments, language and values, and hukilau (fishing with a seine).

Kupuna (elder) Sylvia Akana teaches the classes and serves as the caretaker of Lono's Garden, a quarter-acre haven of more than 50 different species of native Hawaiian medicinal plants and the 24 "canoe plants" that were brought to the islands by the first Polynesian settlers. The garden is named for the Hawaiian god of agriculture.

General manager Ron Kikumoto presents a 90-minute talk on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings on the "Myths and Legends of Sacred Wailua." In a section of the lobby set up like a comfortable living room, he discusses Hawaiian deities, the alii (royalty), Wailua's historical sites, voyaging routes of early Polynesian pioneers and more, using maps, photographs, artifacts and other visuals.

On Tuesdays, guests can gather with Akana in the pre-dawn darkness to greet the rising sun with a traditional chant, "E Ala E" ("awake"), an inspiring "chicken skin" experience. In October, students from Niihau participate in a ceremony commemorating the Makahiki, a four-month period of peace and thanksgiving that Hawaiians observed following the harvest season.

Next year, the Sacred Wailua Cultural Program will expand to include a walking tour of Lono's Garden; a tapa-making class; and a monarchy lecture utilizing a 7-by-41-foot mural depicting Hawaiian royals who lived from 1758 to 1921.

"We are blessed to be in sacred Wailua and feel a sense of responsibility to share that with our visitors," said Kikumoto. "There are those who believe that aloha can be packaged, measured and brought out when needed. We believe that when you embrace the land and culture, aloha is a natural byproduct that flows effortlessly."

Cultural Garden Tour

Kauai Marriott Resort & Beach Club

Offered free at 1 p.m. Tuesdays. Call 808-245-5050, ext. 5166. On the Web: www.marriotthawaii.com

Prior to being charged with leading the Kauai Marriott's hour-long Cultural Garden Tour in June, Ryan Koga didn't know a jungle geranium from a ginger. Today, the 27-year-old concierge is an avid aficionado of Hawaiian ethnobotany.

Every week, he leads visitors on a tour of the hotel's magnificent 1-acre garden, which features nearly 60 species of tropical plants and a pond teeming with 1,000 koi.

According to Koga, the ancient Hawaiians valued plants for more than their beauty. For example, the ulu (breadfruit) was a dietary staple. Its bark was woven into rope, and surfboards were made from its light, strong wood. Hawaiians also crumpled ulu leaves to release a sticky sap.

"Birds would land on the leaves and get stuck," said Koga. "That's how the Hawaiians were able to pluck feathers from them to make cloaks, helmets and kahili (standards) for royalty."

Ti leaves served as a kind of "foil"; food was wrapped in them for steaming in the imu (underground oven). A symbol of good luck, the leaves also were tied to canoes to protect fishermen and to ensure a bountiful catch, and they were woven into sandals, hula skirts and rain capes. Sweet ti roots were eaten like candy, and when boiled in water, they yielded a potent liquor called okolehao.

The fragrant sap of the native ginger was used as a deodorant and shampoo; the red berries of the akia cleared murky waters, enabling fish to be easily speared; the hard wood of the ulei made sturdy tools and utensils; and sap from the alula served as an antiseptic for cuts and wounds.

The Kauai Marriott's 23 groundskeepers tend to the garden and constantly introduce new plants. Koga said, "I'll notice something different and think, 'Hey, when did that get planted?' Visitors will ask questions about it, and I'll research the answers for them. The tour provides ongoing opportunities to learn -- for them and for me!"

Hawaiian Monk Seal Program

Sheraton Kauai Resort's Point Lounge

Offered free at 6 p.m. Wednesdays. Call 808-742-1661. On the Web: www.kauaimonkseal.com/Home.html

Six to 8 feet long, weighing between 400 and 600 pounds, and with an impish face dominated by big brown eyes, the Hawaiian monk seal ranks among the most endangered creatures on Earth and is one of just two mammals endemic to Hawaii (the other is a species of bat).

There are only about 1,300 of these rare seals in the world. Ninety percent of the population lives in the remote, uninhabited Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, which extend 1,200 miles beyond Kauai. Two dozen of them make their home in the waters and on the beaches of Kauai.

The Kauai Monk Seal Watch Program was founded in 1999 to protect the monk seals and their habitats by providing management and monitoring and by promoting environmental education and community participation. The nonprofit volunteer organization has partnered with the Sheraton Kauai Resort to sponsor a 45-minute slide show and question-and-answer session about the seals, which frequently appear on the beach fronting the hotel.

"Education for both our local and visitor populations is vital to preserve such a critically endangered animal," said Tim Robinson, KMSWP's project chairman. "For Hawaiian monk seals to thrive in the main Hawaiian islands, we absolutely have to be successful maintaining the delicate balance between environmental and visitor industry needs."

Among the fascinating tidbits that are shared during the program: A monk seal pup grows from 25 to nearly 200 pounds in the six weeks after it's born; an adult can dive as deep as 1,600 feet and stay down for as long as 20 minutes; and the animal gets its name from the multiple folds of skin around its head and neck, which resemble a monk's hood, and the fact that, like monks, it leads a solitary life.

Said Robinson, "Our program not only provides plenty of entertaining biological and ecological information about the seals, but gives our visitors guidelines for proper human behavior while viewing them on the beach."

Kupuna Outreach Program

ResortQuest Waimea Plantation Cottages

Offered free from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Call 808-338-1625. On the Web: www. waimea-plantation.com/ kupuna/index.html

There's no better way to learn about the Hawaiian culture than to connect with the people who live it every day. That philosophy lies at the heart of the Kupuna Outreach Program that takes place three times a week at ResortQuest Waimea Plantation Cottages.

For four fulfilling hours, visitors mingle with up to 30 kupuna from West Kauai in the Breezeway, a spacious covered lanai that overlooks the ocean, green lawns and coconut trees. The friendly elders teach them the hula; share songs and stories about Hawaii; and display and sell leis, lau hala fans, shell jewelry and other crafts.

"The Kupuna Outreach Program has been instrumental in connecting visitors with living treasures on Kauai," said Stephanie Iona, general manager of ResortQuest Waimea Plantation Cottages. "This community-based partnership adds a very special element to their vacation in Hawaii."

Recently, a trainer from the resort's parent company came to coach employees on hospitality service values. She wound up picking up some pointers herself through the Kupuna Outreach Program.

"She immediately fell in love with our kupuna and their sense of Hawaiian hospitality," Iona recalled. "She had never experienced a program that puts kupuna in touch with guests in the fashion that this program does."

Nothing is planned in advance; serendipity makes the event all the more fun and interesting. Whether you want to hear about life on a sugar plantation, how to make a fish net or the best way to cook ahi (yellowfin tuna), the kupuna are happy to "talk story" about it.

"Everyone has a wonderful time," said Iona. "The Kupuna Outreach Program gives elders the opportunity to meet people from all over the world and to talk about their rich life experiences; they are so enthusiastic about sharing their manao (knowledge). Visitors, meanwhile, enjoy the interaction with longtime kamaaina and take home a true sense of Hawaii's culture, heritage and traditions."